Review-Shades of Earth

I read the first book in this series before it came out, the second one right before this one hit shelves, and although I preordered this book I didn't get to it until after it had been out for a good week.  Beth has really created a trilogy that is unlike anything out there for teens at this point in time, and for this I am so grateful.  Having always been a Star Trek fan I just loved the fact that there was a YA book set in space, and to top it all off there was a murder mystery.  Now this one we got to take a look at a another planet.  The world was so rich and the new characters we got to meet were fascinating   She was able to create such a story that even I wasn't able to figure out what was happening before the main characters (and for me that is like the greatest honor an author can possibly receive if they are writing a mystery novel).  I'm always sad to see a series end, so sometimes I avoid the end of a series all together, but with this one I decided that I should finish it before I forgot what happened in book two, and I'm honestly glad I did decide to finish this series.  Beth didn't pull her punches, people died like they always have in her books, and I think she had a ton of guts to do what she did.  All of the tech in the novel, mainly the glass, was interesting to read about, I mean, just think if we had that kind of thing here.  The other thing I adored was the idea that the bad guys weren't really the bad guys, I mean, they were, but they weren't.  There was also one of those philosophical questions that I've been noticing more and more in YA novels, and I enjoy reading about them because they're important, they make people think.  As a last novel (or just as a novel) this was a good book, and while I'm sad to see the series end I'm glad it ended like it did, and I can't wait to see what Beth comes up with next.  With the two books in the series out in paperback if you haven't tried them I would check them out.

5/5 dust spirits

Review-The Madman's Daughter

This was another one of the books I got from my supposed-to-have-gone-to-but-I-got-sick blogger dinner with Harper.  This book is one of those highly anticipated debut novels that will have a media frenzy and what not.  After having read it I can see why, because I was very pleased with the result.  Personally I thought this was a delicious novel, filled with stolen kisses and hot boys, along with disfigured creatures and grotesque things that were taken from nightmares.  It was dark, which is probably a huge part of the reason that I loved it, and it was also a mystery of sorts.  There was also part of it that dove into the nature of man and beast, and what humanity truly means, along with how far science should be allowed to go before having strayed too far.  The other thing I loved about this book were the characters.  Two boys, each with secrets to hide, along with the girl who is more than she seems.  It was fascinating watching as they layers were pulled back and the story (and origin) of the characters was revealed.  This was one book that did catch me off guard a few times, although I was suspicious before everything played out, so I can't say I was blindsided. It says on the back of the book that this story was based off of H. G. Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau, which I have never read, but from reading the summary I can conclude this was probably faithful enough to the book to be associated with it. It seemed to wrap itself up quite nicely, and while I COULD see a second novel with the same characters I'm almost hoping for a companion novel (book two is supposed to be based off of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and not a direct sequel, although regardless of which it is I'll still read it.  I do have to warn you that there are parts of this novel that are pretty dark, so I wouldn't suggest anyone younger than 16 read it, and squeamish people might want to tread lightly.

Out January 29, 2013

5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Harper for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Review-Nobody But Us

I got this book because I was supposed to go to a blogger dinner for Harper, but I got sick (story of my life) so the person who hosted it was kind enough to send me a copy.  Kristin is a local author and I had seen the book on passing browsing goodreads and the Harper website, but I wasn't sure it I wanted to read it.  When I started it I was a little...confused (full disclosure here).  The...style...of the language she chose for the male POV was a little...jarring.  It's a little...hillbilly, as in, not grammatically correct, but once I got over that I did end up enjoying the book.  Some books just flow, and this was one of those books.  Once I picked it up I couldn't seem to put it down, it was lyrical in an way that made it move like a song.  There was rhythm and voice and it wasn't just one of those fluff books (don't get me wrong though, I love fluff books).  I did end up having some questions along the way, and there were little pieces that led me down one road when the story was going down another, so I was a little put off by that. The dual POV was a really great addition though, because while this story COULD have been told with just one POV I don't think it would have worked as well.  It's always fun for me to see through the eyes of two characters, especially when they are different sexes and are in love.  Personally, the main characters rubbed me the wrong way once or twice, but I find that sometimes that happens with books.  The end didn't really catch me off guard, but I was still pleased with it none the less. Kristin took a risk and I applaud her for it, because what she did...it doesn't happen in most YA books.  Overall I was pleased with the book and will pick up the next book she writes, as well as go see her at the launch party.

Out January 29, 2013

4/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Harper for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Review-The Archived

I read Victoria's debut novel and I really enjoyed it, so when I read about THIS book, well, I just HAD to have it.  It sounded AMAZING and Victoria has this writing style that cuts deep into your soul and makes you shiver.  This book is  a fantasy novel but there are some parts of it that are so real.  The emotion is something that almost everyone can relate to, and if not now they WILL be able to relate to it some time in their life.  I'm amazed that Victoria is able to come up with all of these ideas that are TOTALLY original, because there is NOTHING out there like it.  The plot was great, along with the characters.  Mac was a truly extraordinary character, and what made her even better was that she was flawed.  There was even a bit of mystery, and although I did figure out most of it before it was all explained, I was pleased with how well she incorporated it into the story.  Nothing felt forced and despite the fact that they were small I really loved when Mac would have flashbacks of talking to Da, because even though the WHOLE book was beautiful, I thought that those parts were especially so.  This is the first book in (at least) a duology, although with the way this book ended I'm not quite sure what happens next, although I will be happy to read the next book.  The world is lush, the characters are endearing, and the plot is intriguing, add it all together and you get a thoroughly enjoyable book that talks about loss and about love, and it really shows what it's like to be a teenager (fighting the dead or not).  If you read Victoria's first novel you should check this book out, and if you haven't they this is a great starting place when it comes to V's novels.

Out January 22, 2013

4.5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Review-Zorgamazoo

Today I went to the used bookstore because I got a ton of gift cards to there for Christmas.  Now, when I go to a used bookstore I like browse all of the shelves in the teen section (which also happens to be where they shelve middle grade novels as well) and I happened upon this book at the very bottom of one of the book cases and I thought "this looks interesting".  So I picked it up, read the inside flap, and though "why not, I'll read it to my younger brothers in the car when we go on drives".  When I got home I tried to read it to my youngest brother, but he didn't want to hear it, so I went along and read it myself.  It was a really quick read because of two things. One, it was entirely in verse.  And it rhymed!  I must give this author props. That is CRAZY impressive! 280 pages of poem stanzas that rhyme.  The second reason was that it's a middle grade book, so it doesn't have a high reading level. Those things being said it was SO cute and I think there's more than just a story to take away from it (please be aware it did get a little dark at some times).  Personally when I finished it I saw a story about a girl who was brave, and even better, she didn't just look at who people were on the outside, but who they were on the inside.  She was creative and used her imagination throughout the whole book, which is something I can admire.  It was a great story and a quick read that reminded me a lot of Dr. Seuss in terms of style and made up words.  I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up dreaming in rhyme and nonsense tonight.  I know it's an older book, and I know it's for a younger audience than usual, but a good book is a good book.

4.5/5 dust spirits

I also wanted to share the first page from the book, because I think it applies to reading ALL books.

"Here 

is a story
that's stranger than strange.
Before we begin you may want to arrange:
a blanket,
a cushion,
a comfortable seat,
and maybe some cocoa and something to eat."

Review-Dare You To

Last year I read Katie's debut novel, Pushing the Limits and I just fell in love with it.  I'm a real sucker for those love stories where the guy and the girl start off at each other's throats but slowly fall in love.  When I heard that there was going to be a companion book to the first I was ecstatic and I started searching for it everywhere.  I found it on netgalley and long story short I got approved.  Now, I was home sick today and I told myself "for each homework/classwork assignment you finish you can read one chapter."  If you guessed that didn't work to well you guessed correctly.  One homework assignment got done (I only have two left!) and then the reading kind of...well...let's just say I got carried away.  For those of you who have read Pushing the Limits you'll recognize Beth, along with a few other characters from book one, although Ryan is all new.  Personally I loved how Katie decided to turn the characters on their heads and make the girl the more player-ish, stoner type, and the boy the "perfect" one.  Just like the first one this book wasn't just fluff, it had some hard topics in it, and I think the message in the end was to be true to what YOU want, not what other people want you to do, or what you're expected to do.  I have to be honest, I liked the first book a little better, I think it was Beth's mom (I know there are people out there like her, but it really makes me sick all of the things she did and didn't do.  There was also Scott, who, I know was just trying to do the right thing, but he went about it the wrong way in my opinion).  As a whole this was another great book by Katie (and dare I say [you see what I did there?] it was even sexier than the first book).  This book will be added to my collection when it comes out, and I will wait impatiently for the short story and third book that connects with this one.
P.S. I call Ryan, he is mine, I saw him first!

Out June 7, 2013 (this date is subject to change)

4.5/5

*Thanks to Harlequin for the e-ARC in return for an honest review.

Review-Level 2

I first heard about this book when I stumbled upon Lenore's blog and I was instantly fascinated.  There are SO many things I loved about this novel, so let's start from the top. First, the plot.  It was SO original.  Fresh and exciting and intriguing I couldn't finish this book fast enough.   I think it's classified as a dystopian novel, but it's set in the afterlife.  So, I guess since the afterlife is supposed to be a perfect world and it turns out its not in this book that counts as a dystopian...right?  The second thing I loved was the style it was written in.  I'm sure there are going to be some people who won't like it, but I was not one of those people.  In the book the main form of entertainment for those in Level 2 is reliving memories, and so throughout the book we see Felicia's life through various memories.  Things unfold piece by piece and with every memory we see we get another bit of information that we can use to put her past together.  Then there's the world in general.  Can I just say that I would LOVE to be able to do what Felicia can do when she gets stronger!  Lenore takes a whole new spin on the afterlife and angels, and dystopian novels as a whole.  Fair warning, there is some religion that is integrated into the novel, but it's not a huge part of the book and it doesn't take over the novel so much that if you're not religious you might get sick of it.  All in all this is a FABULOUS debut that will speak to a lot of people in terms of character and plot, and I can't wait for the second installment (and maybe if I'm really luck a third installment).

Out January 15, 2013

5/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Review-Revolution 19

Based on this cover I was expecting one thing, and while I did get some of that I also got some of something else.  Now, the synopsis made me think of The Terminator, which I really enjoyed and the intro gave me the good kind of chills.  When I started the ACTUAL book though I was a little confused.  The POV jumped between three main characters which I might not have minded so much, but I found that inside the chapters the POV changed without warning, which really caught me off guard.  This being said I liked seeing the story unfold through the eyes of three characters.   Two of them were males, so despite a girl being on the cover this book almost seems to appeal more to the male gender than the female one.  The other thing I have to applaud this author on is the fact that he used an original idea when it came to the YA genre (he didn't come up with it, but he wrote it, so that's perfectly okay).  Goodreads says nothing about this book being the first in a series, but based on the way it ended I can only assume there will be at least one more book in the series.  The epilogue really hit me hard too, and it would have been really interesting had the author peppered chapters like the epilogue throughout the book, but I can see why he didn't.  As a whole I was pretty pleased with how the book turned out, and I will most likely pick up the sequel when it comes out to see what happens next.  It was packed with action from page one and Gregg even managed to work some romance in there (along with some mystery that I hope to be proven right about in later books).  This is also the first book I've read (that I'm aware of) where the idea for the book didn't come from the author, which was an interesting journey in and of itself.

4/5 dust spirits

*Thanks to Harper Teen for the ARC in return for an honest review.

13 Sequel/Veteran Novels I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

For every author that debuts this year I wouldn't be surprised if there were 2 authors that had already written a book and had another on the way.  Seeing as not all of them are sequels I've titled them veteran novels (novels that are from authors who have written at least one book but aren't sequels to their previous work).  There are SO many good books out there and there are SO many good sequels out there, so here are 13 of those books I'm looking forward to (although these are not all of the releases or all of the ones that I want to read) and again they are in no order and have a little bit as to why I want to read them.  These are all ones I do NOT have ARCs of.  Added at the end are ones I haven't read yet but do have ARCs of and are still excited about.

1. Of Triton by Anna Banks
This is the sequel to Of Poseidon, which I just ADORED!  It was a favorite of mine in 2012.  I read it in a day and laughed my butt off.  I also had the pleasure of meeting the author on tour and I adored her too!  I can't wait to see what happens in this book because THAT CLIFFHANGER!


Out May 28, 2013

2. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Shadow and Bone was also one of my favorite reads of last year.  Pretty much my first high fantasy novel, I just fell in love with the world building and the whole plot that Leigh managed to create. It was all just so beautiful, and the characters were so great.


Out June 4, 2013

3. Unbreakable by Elizabeth Norris
THERE'S A SEQUEL!!!  I just LOVED the first one, but with the way it ended there very well could have NOT been a sequel, so I'm really glad there is.  And it sounds like a doozy!


Out April 23, 2013

4. Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller
Now, I've seen the real cover, but it hasn't been released yet, so we're stuck with this (poor) mock up that I made.  But I'm so flipping excited for this book!  Trish's debut novel was AMAZING!  I'm not kidding, it blew me away. Made me laugh, made me cry.  I've read little snippets of this book on Trish's Tumblr (go check it out) and the boy, he's SERIOUSLY HOT!  Like, fan-yourself-because-he's-so-attractive hot.  I can't wait to see how the novel turns out in the end!

Out October 2013

5. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
I have read every one of Cassie Clare's books, and with this being the end to a series I have a feeling I'm going to cry.  I really love this series and I've grown to love both Jem and Will (it's unusual for me to like both of the love interests in a book, but Cassie makes me love them ALL) and although I know that SOME people survive it will be hard to forget that they all end up dying because The Mortal Instruments comes AFTER this series.  But it's beautiful, so I'm sure I'll love it regardless.


Out March 19, 2013

6. The Originals by Cat Patrick
Cat is one of my author friends, and she lives somewhere in the Seattle area, so I bump into her a lot at events.  I've read her first book, but I didn't get to her second this year.  But this one sounds REALLY good (not that her second one didn't, but I just got busy) and it's about clones, and clones falling in love.  So, yeah, I'm totally gonna buy it.  And read it.


Out May 7, 2013

7. The Program by Suzanne Young
I just loved Suzanne's angel series so when I heard about this book I was really excited.  This time Suzanne is dealing with a big problem (teen suicide) in the book.  There's romance and action, and it sounds like a great dystopian novel that will lead into a great dystopian series.  I can't wait to sink my teeth into this book because I know it's going to be amazing.  Also...knowing Suzanne she'll probably make me cry.


Out April 30, 2013

8. Ashes on the Waves by Mary Lindsey
I really enjoyed Mary's debut novel Shattered Souls and even though I've only read one Poe poem I can't help but appreciate the Gothic style he writes in.  So since this is a mix of Poe and Mary Lindsey I don't think it's possible for me not to at least check it out.  I'm such a sucker for love that has to work through so many things to survive (not for me though) and that's what this book is.  Also, it has a boy who is labeled an outcast, so, you know, sexy.


Out June 27, 2013

9. Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan
I love Andrea Cremer.  I love David Levithan.  Now they're writing a book together.  And it's about a girl that falls in love with an invisible boy.  I want it and I want it now because it's going to be AWESOME!


Out May 7, 2013

10. Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
Kendare is another great author friend of mine, and her books are deliciously dark.  So now she's writing a book about ancient gods and goddesses who are killing each other.  And one of them is going to die via chocking on feathers? Yeah, I don't need to hear any more than that, I'm in.


Out September 10, 2013

11. Boundless by Cynthia Hand
I've read these books pretty much the instant they came out, and I really love them.  They're about angels, but they take a different spin on the mythology (and the main character is a GIRL).  There are two very attractive boys and I can't wait to see who Clara ends up with, along with how her destiny ends.


Out January 22, 2013

12. Shades of Earth by Beth Revis
Despite the fact that I'm not a huge fan of the new covers I am excited to see how this series will end.  This series really reminds me of Star Trek which I just LOVED as a child, so to revisit the stars in book form (even if they aren't our stars) it's great.And this one looks like we'll run into something a little different, so I'm extra excited about that!


Out January 15, 2013

13. Dare You To by Katie McGarry
Pushing the Limits was one of my favorite books of last year, and now we get to read Beth's story.  According to Katie we are going to see characters from book one appear as side characters in book two, and if they're anything alike this book is going to be SEXY!  Seriously, I can't wait to dig into this one.


Out May 28, 2013










Please note that all release dates are taken from Goodreads and subject to change.

I'm still excited for these, but I have ARCs of them so they can't go on the list.

13 Debuts I'm Looking Forward to in 2013

Every year there are a good 100 new authors that break through into the published world in YA and MG novels, and recently I've decided to help them out as much as possible by reading as many of them as possible.  Here are 13 that I'm looking forward to (although these are not all of the releases or all of the ones that I want to read) and again they are in no order and have a little bit as to why I want to read them.  These are all ones I do NOT have ARCs of.  Added at the end are ones I haven't read yet but do have ARCs of and are still excited about.

The main character is a nightmare and it has a boarding school.  Along with a hot boy and a murder.  Color me interested.

Out March 5, 2013

A girl falling in love with the devil? And he's a cute teenage boy? Yum.  Also, how amazing is this cover?  It's pretty amazing.

Out August 20, 2013

Hot boy on the cover. Hot boys in the book. One girl in the mix.  On the run from an agency.  Yes please.

Out January 1, 2013

An invisible girl with a mob boss father.  That sounds SUPER cool.

Out May 21, 2013

This book doesn't have a cover yet, but I decided to include it anyways because the mere fact that it's set on another planet just intrigues me to no end.  And from the description on goodreads it looks like while it's a trilogy they're going to be companion novels, which is like, a first for me in terms of sci-fi books.

Out 2013 (not specified)

It sounds so Terminator, and I just loved those movies (the first three and the TV show).  And a Terminator-like person that falls in love?  I'll give it a shot (or 178 [you see what I did there?]).

Out May 7, 2013

The Goddess Test meets Dexter.  For me you say Dexter and I'm like "I'll give it a shot".

Out April 2, 2013

It takes place right after the Spanish Influenza. And it has ghosts in it.  And photos from the time period!!!

Out April 2, 2013

A little bit of mystery, a little bit of paranormal.  It sounds like Imaginary Girls only darker. I'm so down.

Out June 11, 2013

Seeing as this doesn't have a huge description on goodreads I want to read it because of the cover (and the tag line) along with the fact that the main character has (supposedly) been falsely imprisoned.

Out April 25, 2013

There are some kind of scary monsters in this book so I want it.

Out June 25, 2013

This book just sounds like so much fun, and for an uber-dork like me the comic element (and the fact that I'm a lot like Blaze) interests me.

Out February 1, 2013

This looks like a garden variety dystopian novel with only instead of taking place AFTER the apocalypse it takes place BEFORE it.  (Actually, I'm not sure if there IS an apocalypse).

Out August 27, 2013













Please note that all release dates are taken from Goodreads and subject to change.

I'm still excited for these, but I have ARCs of them so they can't go on the list.